


Bonded Falcons

by Benfrosh



Series: Falcons Mate For Life [2]
Category: Suikoden II
Genre: Anywhere, F/F, and as far as i can tell i'm the only anita/valeria shipper, implication of sexual relationship, so i went fishing, so that's sure a thing, use of adult language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 14:44:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7849186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benfrosh/pseuds/Benfrosh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anita interrupts Valeria's morning routine to ask her to try something out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bonded Falcons

A knock came from the door to the bedroom, and Valeria turned her head in surprise. The sun had not yet risen, and she was enjoying her morning tea before starting another busy day training the soldiers at Dunan Castle for the next major battle. However, the morning drills weren't for hours yet, and she had no appointments until then. "Hold your horses, I'm coming," she said as the knock sounded again, more pounding this time. Pulling her nightgown around herself, she stood up and went to the door to see who was trying to reach her this early.

Valeria opened it to find Anita poking her head through and stealing a kiss before Valeria could react. As she finally processed what happened, she laughed as Anita smiled. "Damn, thought I'd get you that time," Anita said jokingly. 

"It'll take more than that to shock me again, Anita. What's up?" Valeria waved Anita in invitingly. "I've got some tea brewed if you want to hang out for a while."

Anita frowned. "Mmm, I shouldn't, but... ah, why not." Valeria closed the door behind Anita as she entered and pulled up her usual chair. "Where'd you boil the water? Thought the kitchen was closed this early. Don't tell me you're going to serve me cold brew tea."

"You'll like this, I picked this up from Gordon the other day." Valeria lifted the kettle and showed Anita the bottom. "Fire rune embedded on the bottom," she said with a smile. "Heats up water anytime, anywhere."

Anita let out a low whistle. "That is handy. Wonder if you could use that to cool down beer, too, with a Water rune."

Valeria shook her head. "I've never been good with rune stuff and you know it," she said, laughing self-deprecatingly. "I just make use of what's given to me." She poured out an extra cup of tea for Anita as well. (She always had the extra cup ready. Just in case.)

"Like your brains, your muscles, your lovely eyes..." Anita said teasingly as she took a sip of her tea.

"Stop that," Valeria said, waving Anita off as she picked up her tea once again. "Still not used to you actually complimenting me honestly."

"I'm overcompensating for lost time. You know how it is," Anita said with a grin behind her teacup. 

"You rascal." Valeria paused, taking in the smell of her tea and the sight of her happy, beautiful... lover. That was the term, after all, for them now. Still rivals, that would never change, but lovers now too. It was weird, certainly, but... no, actually. It felt a lot more right than it had before. Hating someone that she had so much respect and admiration for was unnatural, in the long run. Unsustainable. This was healthier for the both of them. Valeria shook herself from her reverie. "I'm sure you didn't come here just to hang out and drink tea with me, Anita."

"Oh, I dunno, it's a mighty appealing prospect now that it's on the table," Anita replied mischievously.

"What'd you come here for originally, then? I see you have your sword with you," Valeria countered, point at the sword Anita was obviously carrying.

Anita looked at it. "This old thing? I carry it everywhere, you know that. Just how it goes."

Valeria pouted. "I suppose that's true, but..."

Anita giggled. "I'm sorry, you're just too cute when you pout like that. You're right, I came here to ask if you wanted to come train with me before everyone woke up."

"Sounds good to me. Let me get ready and we'll go." Valeria quickly stood up and opened her closet to find her gear.

"Aw, come on. Can't we take a minute and relax?" Valeria could hear Anita's sad face in her voice.

"Nope. I know you, and if you trick me into relaxing now it'll be daybreak by the time we're finally out there training."

From behind her, Anita came up to Valeria and started rubbing her back and kissing her ear, giving it a gentle nibble as she did. "Maybe I can help you change into your gear-"

"Go wait outside, Anita."

Anita harrumphed and finally left her to change. Valeria sighed. If Anita had been touchy one way when they hated each other, she was touchy a completely different way now. Just how Anita was, she guessed. It certainly explained her dozens of partners, at least. Valeria rifled through her clothes to find her traditional uniform and quickly threw it on. She considered putting on her armor, but decided against it. It was just training, after all. She slammed shut her closet doors, picked up her sword from where it laid, and opened her bedroom door once more.

Anita was still there, waiting. (Seeing Anita actually wait for her was another entirely new thing with the relationship. She was far more used to the old school days of racing Anita back home for food.) "Took you long enough," she said mockingly. (That was less new.) "Let's get going. The elevator's busted, so we're going to have to take the stairs."

Valeria nodded. "Lead the way," she said, countering Anita's joke with a grin. Anita huffed at Valeria's lack of a response, spun on her heel, and quickly stepped off. Valeria followed behind her as the two quickly stepped down the stairs from Valeria's quarters to the castle courtyard. 

That was always the way to rattle Anita, Valeria had learned over the years. Anita always went on the offensive, her every action trying to break you open and pierce your defense. Keeping calm and steady and refusing to show an opening frustrated her beyond belief, and eventually led her into making a mistake. That was how Valeria won their third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth duels, and every time besides they had fought with words instead of swords. (The sixth duel was blind luck, but that was a different story.) And even if they were... lovers... now, she wasn't going to forget that easily.

Before long, they had reached the castle courtyard. By day, a completely bustling place, but now, long before the sun had even begun to rise, completely deserted besides the night guardsmen. 

"So what were you planning on practicing? Did you want to just duel here for practice, or...?" Valeria eyed Anita inquisitively.

Anita shook her head. "I wanted to practice something specific. Come over here," she said, waving Valeria further onwards. The two came over to a straw doll used for target practice. "Today, we're practicing our teamwork."

Valeria tilted her head. "Teamwork? On a straw doll?"

Anita nodded. "You know those combinations we do? I charge in, you use Falcon to finish off? I know they've all been impromptu before, because I couldn't stand looking at you. Now that I actually enjoy it, I figured we could make it more official."

Valeria frowned. "I'd hardly even call those combinations, honestly. They were always just me coming to save your ass because you rushed in too quickly."

Anita laughed. "Says the girl who always ends up off balance, afterwards."

"Hmph. Maybe if you had ever warned me about what you were going to do..."

Anita smacked the straw doll on the back. "That's what we're going to do today. Come up with signals so you know what's going to happen and make sure neither of us messes up."

Valeria nodded and drew her sword. "So what's the plan, you lead I follow?"

Anita smiled wide as she walked over to Valeria's side, drawing her own sword. "I never thought I'd hear those words from you."

Valeria smiled back, getting her sword at the ready. "The things I do for love."

Anita stood ready. "One, two... thre-" To Valeria, it seemed as if she had started moving before Valeria could even process what she had heard, and was already stabbing the dummy by the time she got her legs in gear. That was the one advantage Anita had that Valeria had refused to admit - always pushing, always being on the offensive, meant that she could move without a thought, and Valeria couldn't go on the offensive quite as readily as her. It wasn't much - the two were so close in skill it was a half second's difference at most. But when the two of them were dueling - or, in this case, coordinating - it was a half second dearly misplaced. Valeria ended up thrusting herself along with her sword to catch up to Anita and thrust her sword deep into the dummy, losing her step in the process. She tried to quickly recover, but her sword was stuck in and refused to come out in time, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"Wow, that was bad," Anita said with a whistle. "You okay there?"

Valeria stood up and wiped the dust off her clothes. "I'm not injured, if that's what you're asking."

"Let's try that again, shall we?" 

Valeria lined up again next to Anita. One, two... in her rush to keep her eyes on Anita to follow her actions, she failed to notice a rock on the ground. Anita stood above her, tsk-tsking as Valeria lay on the ground dazed from the fall. Anita reached out a hand, but Valeria turned it down as she stood up once more.

Once more lined up. One, two... and this time, for once, Valeria move more quickly than Anita. Too quickly - they slammed into each other and go tumbling over, their swords flying away as they fell to the ground rolling. When they finally stopped, Anita had ended up on top of Valeria, glaring down at her frustratedly. Valeria could only manage a nervous half-shrug as an apology. Anita stood up and walked away, leaving Valeria to pick herself up and feel guilty.

"Okay, what's the matter? This isn't you at all, Valeria." Anita leaned against the poor target doll and frowned.

"I'm sorry, I... I don't know why, but I can't keep up with you, Anita," Valeria said with a sigh. "Something isn't clicking today."

Anita's frown deepened. "That would be the worst ending to our rivalry if us fucking made you a worse fighter."

Valeria blushed. "Anita, stop-"

"This is the battlefield, Valeria. I love you, but get your head here and now. Why are you even trying to keep up with me?"

Valeria blinked. "Huh?"

"I'm faster off the block than you. It's a half second at most, but I am. Stop trying to match me and start trying to do what you already do, which is come **after** me." She grinned. "I go first, I occupy them 'til you're there, and then you strike. It's what we've always done, and I don't want to change that now."

Valeria paused. That's exactly what she thought, too. Why had she tried to do something different? 

Anita's face softened into a neutral expression. "I get it, Valeria, I do. Us going out seemed like the start of something big and new, right?"

Valeria slowly nodded.

"But it isn't. It's just us," Anita continued, pointing at the two of them, "just us being us in a slightly different way than we used to. All our training, our history, it's all the same as it used to be. It's just being expressed differently now." She reached her hand out to Valeria. "So let's keep being us, okay? Let's not let something small like us being lovers get in the way of us fighting."

Valeria took in a deep breath... and nodded. "You're right, Anita," she said with a smile. "Let's take that from the top, alright? I won't mess up again."

But as they began practice once more, Valeria couldn't help but think that - maybe she wanted things to be different. Maybe she wanted a lover she didn't fight constantly, one who didn't know how to get her hairs on end. One who - might actually settle down with her someday, even.

But that wasn't Anita, was it. And Anita was the one she loved.


End file.
